Time Goes By
by Misty10
Summary: AU: Harry is on his way to Hogwarts for the first time; what friendships will he make along the way? WARNING: will contain SLASH in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter! I don't even own the idea for this story(Even though I'm the one writing it)! C'mon now!!!  
  
A/N: Please forgive any mistakes made, I haven't got this in to my beta yet... This is purely Alternate Universe; meaning that it doesn't follow the books all that much; although there are some canonical referenses in here; and also in the next chapter I'm planing to put the first hints of slash (No, NOT with Harry and the gang; they're MUCH to young, you'll just have to keep reading to find out). PLEASE don't flame me!!!  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Harry was extremely excited; he was on his way to the school where his parents went. He was a bit nervous though; he knew nothing of the magical community. "Hey, I met you in Diagon Alley right?" he heard behind him. He turned around to see the boy he met in Madam Malkins robe shop.  
  
"Hey, yeah I remember you!" Harry said.  
  
"Draco Malfoy," the boy said and offered his hand.  
  
"Harry Potter, it's a pleasure," he replied. He saw Draco's eyes pop out and immediately look up at his scar. "D'you have it?" Draco asked.  
  
He sighed and lifted up his bangs. "Wow..." he heard Draco whisper.  
  
Just then he heard someone say, "Holy crap! Fred! George! You guys won't believe this!" Harry turned around to see a red haired kid about his own age staring at him wide-eyed.  
  
Just then he saw two boys - identical to the first - walk up. "What'd you want us to see, Ron?" one of them asked. "You'll never believe who he is," the boy - Ron said. "Who, Harry Potter?" one of them joked.  
  
"Actually, I am Harry Potter," Harry said. They both stopped laughing.  
  
"Shut up!" the other triplet said.  
  
Again, Harry just sighed and lifted up his bangs. Both of their jaws dropped.  
  
"Well I'll be..." one of them said.  
  
"George Weasley, and these are my brothers, Ron and Fred." The other one said and extended his hand. Harry took it and said, "Nice to meet all of you,"  
  
"And you are?" Fred asked Draco.  
  
"Draco Malfoy," he said and extended his own hand. "Nice to meet you as well, Draco," George said.  
  
Just then they heard the whistle blow, "All aboard!" "Well, we'd better get going, otherwise we'll miss the train." Draco said.  
* * *  
The train ride was, for the most part, uneventful, until that is they found a toad in the corridor. "Hey where did this little fellow come from?" George asked. "Dunno," Harry said and shrugged.  
  
Just at that moment a girl with bushy brown hair came in and asked, "Have any of you seen a toad? A boy named Neville's lost one," Draco was about to say something when Ron interrupted, "Nope, sorry, but if we do we'll let you know," he said with a smile. She looked at him suspiciously and said, "All right, it goes by the name of Trevor and it belongs to Neville Longbottom, and I'm Hermione Granger, if you spot him," she said still trying to analyze Ron. "Will do, thanks," Draco said also smiling. She looked him over, nodded and then left. All of them burst out laughing.  
  
"That was too easy..." Fred said.  
  
"I know," George replied, still laughing.  
  
"Boys, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship," Harry said with a grin.  
  
"I think it is at that," Draco said.  
* * *  
  
"Firs' years! Firs' years this way!" Harry heard Hagrid yell. He smiled slightly as Fred set Trevor loose. Half a minute later an obese boy yelled, "Trevor!" Harry, Draco, Ron, Fred and George all looked at each other and smiled.  
  
"Hey, Hagrid," Harry said.  
  
"Hiya, Harry! How was the train ride?" asked Hagrid.  
  
"Brilliant!" Harry said.  
  
Hagrid smiled, "Okay, is this all the firs' years? Four to a boat now, mind ya," he said.  
  
Harry, Fred, George and Draco ended up in the same boat; Ron ended up with Neville, Hermione and a pug-faced girl named Pansy Parkinson. The ride was enjoyable - save for the fact that Ron was giving his entire boat an evil eye.  
  
Everyone was in awe when the castle proper came into view. It was quite a sight. "Okay now, follow me, now we'll get ya all sorted up and on to the feast," Hagrid said.  
  
When they reached the Great Hall a woman was waiting for them, "Hello, I am Professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts, and I expect you as students, to follow the rules and obey your Head of House and all other Staff members and Prefects. Disobeying the rules will lead to point deductions and possible detention, depending on the offence, deeds of merit will earn House Points; I strongly suggest you take this to heart for your house will be like your family while you are at Hogwarts and, at the end of the year the House with the most points will be awarded the House Cup; a great honor. Now, please form a single file line so that we may commence with the sorting ceremony. Follow me, please," She said.  
  
Everyone was properly amazed when they entered the Great Hall. "It's not the real sky; it's just spelled to look like it; I read about it in 'Hogwarts, A History.'" Hermione whispered. Ron gave her a disgusted look.  
  
When they reached the staff table a man who could only be Dumbledore, stood up and said, "Welcome all to another fine year here at Hogwarts. Now, before we begin with the sorting, I have a few announcements to make. First, as all of the returning students know, a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher needs to be named. I am pleased to announce that Remus Lupin will fill the position. You will treat him with the same respect as you would any other teacher. And also, Mr. Filtch has kindly asked me to remind you that magic used in between classes is strictly forbidden, as is the forbidden forest. Now, on with the sorting!"  
  
Professor McGonagall placed an old worn out hat on a stool and said, "When I call your name, please come up and place the sorting hat on your head."  
  
Harry wasn't paying that much attention, until that is McGonagall said, "Hermione Granger," then Harry noticed that Ron was closely watching so he did too.  
  
"Ravenclaw," the hat said. The whole Ravenclaw table applauded.  
  
Harry stopped paying attention again until he heard, "Draco Malfoy,"  
  
"Hufflepuff," the hat said and the Hufflepuff house started cheering and Draco smiled, Harry found himself cheering too.  
  
Once again, Harry zoned off until, "Harry Potter," suddenly the room went deathly quiet. Then all of a sudden it erupted with whispers as he approached the hat. He slowly sat down and put the hat on. "Well, well, well, what do we have here? Why it's young Harry Potter, interesting, very interesting, I know exactly where to put you," the hat murmured in Harry's ear. "Slytherin," the hat said. The noise was deafening. The Slytherin table exploded with cheers. Harry went and sat down next to Pansy Parkinson who was sorted just before him.  
  
Up next was, "Fred Weasley," Harry once again snapped to attention. Fred put the hat on and almost immediately it said, "Slytherin," his whole table cheered but not quite as loudly as it had for Harry. Harry was cheering wildly though.  
  
"George Weasley,"  
  
"Slytherin,"  
  
Same reaction.  
  
"Ronald Weasley,"  
  
By now Harry was expecting the hat to say Slytherin, so when it said, "Ravenclaw," Harry was as surprised as anyone.  
  
Harry watched as Ron just smiled at them and went and sat right next to Hermione, who was looking none to pleased.  
  
There was now only one person left to be sorted, who was, apparently, "Blaise Zabini," who was sorted into Slytherin house.  
  
"Well now that that's been taken care of on with the feast! Sassafras!" Dumbledore said. Harry laughed slightly and asked, "Is he a bit... mad?" "Dumbledore? Certainly, but you won't find a better educator," an older boy said. "I'm Marcus Flint, by the way," he said and offered his hand. "Harry Potter," Harry said and took it. "Not to be rude or anything but, that's obvious," Marcus replied. "Ummm... yeah, sorry..." Harry said.  
  
Harry watched in awe as food magically appeared on the table. "Wow..." he whispered. Marcus just smiled at him and passed him the mashed potatoes. The feast was delicious, but soon enough it was over and Marcus - who Harry found was a Prefect and the captain of the Quidditch team - led them all to the dormitory, which was in the dungeons. "The password is: 'What Password?' don't forget it," Marcus said as they reached the entrance. "Ummm... don't forget what Marcus?" a First Year named Millicent Bulstrode asked. Marcus sighed, "To get into the dormitory you'll be asked to give the password. You'll say, 'What Password?'" he explained. "Oh," Millicent said still a little bit confused. Fred walked up to the portrait and the snake said, "Password?" "What Password?" Fred replied. The portrait swung open. "See?" Fred asked Millicent. "Oh... I get it now..." she said. Marcus gave Fred a thankful look and said, "All right, everyone inside!"  
  
When they got inside a man dressed in black robes was waiting for them, "They're all yours, Professor Snape," Marcus said and climbed up one of the staircases. Professor Snape nodded and began, "Welcome, Slytherin house, to another fine year at Hogwarts. As most of you know, I am Professor Severus Snape, Potions Master and Head of Slytherin house. I would ask all of our older students to please be kind, courteous and patient with our First Years; and help them whenever possible," he said. He looked right at Harry and his eyes went wide. Harry was afraid that this man, like everyone else he'd met so far, save Hagrid of course, would ask to see the scar. Instead, he looked right into his eyes and said, "You are the spiting image of James; except for the eyes, you have Lily's eyes."  
  
Harry looked at Snape wide-eyed. "You knew my parents?" he asked.  
  
"We were all in the same year. I wasn't really friends with James and his crew," his eyes grew cold when mentioning Harry's father, "but Lily was one of my best friends." He said and a small tear ran down his face possibly in memory of Lily.  
  
"Well, I think we've all had enough excitement for one day, off to bed with you then; and remember, if you have a question, the Slytherin Prefects and myself are more then willing to help, good night all." Snape said and took his leave. Harry knew that the first chance he got he'd ask Professor Snape about his mum but for now, sleep.  
  
* * *  
  
Please review and tell me if this sucks or not! and also, I write quite slowly so it might be a while before Chapter 2 comes out; be patient with me! ~Misty 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Still don't own Harry Potter... C'mon now!!!  
  
Spoilers: SS/PS and a 'lil bit PoA  
  
A/N: Sorry this is a bit short; and waaay more sirious then intended... sometimes you just gotta write what comes... I think what's gonna happen (although it might *not*) is alternating chapters between the students and teachers. PLEASE review if you read!!! I'd do it for you... and if you do PLEASE don't flame...  
Chapter 2  
  
Professor Severus Snape was not in a good mood. The last thing he had wanted was to get emotional in front of his students; not to say that he didn't miss Lily... she was his only friend after... no he wouldn't think of that; not now.  
  
Just then he heard a knock on his door. "What?" he demanded.  
  
A very familiar face popped into his office, "Severus, do you have a minute?" Remus Lupin asked.  
  
Snape's eyes went cold, "What do you want?" he asked icily.  
  
"We need to talk," Lupin said.  
  
"About what?" Snape demanded.  
  
"Harry," Lupin answered.  
  
"What about Mr. Potter?" Snape asked.  
  
Lupin looked at him and sighed, "I don't know if I can trust you with him..." he said.  
  
"You don't know if you can trust me with Lily's child?" Snape demanded outraged.  
  
Lupin looked at him with tear filled eyes, "I'd like to be able to, Sev, believe me I would, but you hated James, Merlin knows Sirius wasn't your favorite person... hell he's not on my own friend list anymore... I just want to make sure you'll treat him well,"  
  
Snape looked at Lupin, "I loved Lily like a sister; even if I didn't like her choice of a life partner, you have to believe, I feel somewhat responsible for Harry; by Salazar, he has her eyes..."  
  
Lupin looked at Snape, who was now trying to hide the fact that he was crying, "It's going to be okay, Sev, and if you need anything, you can come to me," he said and started to go to comfort Severus, but thought better of it.  
  
"I'll get out of your way," he said and took his leave.  
  
Severus looked at the backside of the door and wondered am I going soft? Of course, he'd always had a soft spot for Remus Lupin, but that was years ago; I should have listened to him then, I probably wouldn't feel so bad about it now if I had. How am I going to coexist with Lupin? It was bad enough having to finish my Seventh Year seeing him every day, and that was only for two months; oh sure, things are different now, we're older, so why am I still all torn up about it? He sighed, "I should get some sleep; I do have classes tomorrow."  
  
* * *  
  
Remus walked back up to his office and thought, once again, that he should have made more of an effort to convince Severus of his innocence when he was younger; how can these feelings still exist? He thought. It's been over a decade... I guess werewolves really do mate for life. He sighed. But it's obvious that he doesn't want me anymore... oh, Sev, I'm sorry that Sirius was a jealous evil basterd. I'm sorry that everyone loved him. And, most of all, I'm sorry that his evil ways caused the death of such a wonderful person in Lils; and Jamie too of course; if he could have his best friends, a baby killed; please forgive me for trusting him... he sighed. As he got into bed he whispered, "I still do love you, Sev," and tried, to no avail, to hold back the tears that threatened to escape his eyes.  
  
* * *  
  
The next day, Severus's first and second classes went off with out a hitch; they were with Sixth and Seventh Year students. His third class of the day however, was the Slytherin and Hufflepuff First Years.  
  
As usual when trying to make an impression on the First Years exactly as the class was scheduled to begin he swooped in and said, "There is to be no time wasting tomfoolery in this class; this class is dedicated to the refined art of potion making, there will be no wand waving or foolish spell casting; therefore, many of you will not see this class as true magic at all; but, I can assure you, potions is one of the most advanced - and one of the most important - forms of magic that you will learn here at Hogwarts. Now I will assign to each of you a partner," and went about doing just that. Then he set them on the task of making their first potion, a simple one, impossible to muck up, really.  
  
He went around checking anyway, and about two minutes into the class he heard a scream, Harry Potter was covered in goo, although the Filinus Potion was simple, many people were allergic to it. His partner, Neville Longbottom, was sitting there apologizing and looking frightened.  
  
"What happened here?" he demanded.  
  
"Neville did something and the potion exploded," Draco Malfoy explained.  
  
Snape sighed, "Weasley, Weasley, get Potter to the hospital wing, he can make up his credit after dinner. Draco, help Longbottom," He said.  
  
"Yes, sir!" the three boys said in unison. He knew that he was going to have problems with them and Potter, they reminded him of four other boys that he used to know...  
  
"Longbottom, two points from Hufflepuff," he heard himself say.  
  
He sighed; this was going to be a long day.  
  
* * *  
  
Okies... sorry again for cutting this short, next chap will be Harry's POV and I am planing on having the "make up" class in the next chap. I got this out rather early... please don't expect the next chapter out so quickly... my skills *are* limited...  
  
~~Misty 


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I'm not JKR I don't own Harry Potter (Wish I did though $$$)  
  
A/N: Big shout-out to Lee for her fantastic ideas and general wackiness. PLEASE R&R and DON'T Flame!!!  
  
Chapter 3  
Draco yawned as he reached the Great Hall, "Oy, Draco, can I talk to you?" Ron asked as he ran up.  
"Sure, what's up?"  
  
"I've figured it out!"  
  
"Figured what out, Ron?"  
  
"Oh, sorry, I was up all night thinking, and do you remember how much fun it was yesterday when we hid that fat kid's toad?" asked Ron.  
  
"Um... it was rather a good laugh, I guess,"  
  
"Well, I was thinking, what if we made a job of it?" asked Ron excitedly.  
  
"What? Stealing Trevor and giving him back?" Draco asked confused.  
  
"No! That's petty compared to the pranks we could be pulling!" Ron said.  
  
"You wanna go around pulling pranks on people?"  
  
"Well, not me I'd be in the background working everything to our advantage; you, Harry and my brothers would pull off the actual pranks," he explained.  
  
"Cool! Count me in! Just one thing though, I'd rather not do the actual pranking,"  
  
Ron looked at him thoughtfully, "Hm, would you at least be the look out?"  
  
"Sure, I could pose as a distraction when we need one too,"  
  
"Great! Now, no offence or anything, but I'd prefer not to be publicly involved in this, so it's best if we don't talk in public,"  
  
"Of course, I'll tell the others about the 'missions,'" Draco said and walked into the Great Hall.  
  
* * *  
  
"Hey Harry, you awake yet?" either Fred or George asked.  
  
"Yeah, I'm up," he said.  
  
"Good, because we're not waiting any longer," the other one said.  
  
The three of them walked down to the Great Hall, when they got there they saw Draco talking to some of his housemates, he looked up at them, smiled and waved. Harry, Fred and George all waved back. Ron on the other hand, seemed to be ignoring their existence.  
  
"What's his problem?" Fred asked, by now Harry had established which one was which.  
  
"I dunno, but I think we should leave him be..." said George.  
  
"If you say so," Harry said.  
  
* * *  
  
When they finished eating they noticed Draco waving them over out into the hallway.  
  
They walked out into the hall and Draco said, "Okay, I talked to Ron and here's what's going to happen; Ron will do the outlining, I'll make sure everything runs smoothly and be a lookout and distraction when need be; and you three will do the actual 'missions.'"  
  
"What are you talking about, Draco?" asked Harry.  
  
"Well, since we had so much fun with 'operation toad,'" Draco moved in close in whispered conspiratorially, "Ron and I decided to continue with the 'missions.'"  
  
"Oh," Harry said.  
  
"Well, I'll talk to you all in potions, we've got classes," Draco said and walked off.  
  
"This year is going to be fun, I can smell it," Fred said with a grin.  
  
"No, brother, that's your own arse you're smelling," George, replied.  
  
"No, I mean besides that - hey, wait a minute, was that an insult?"  
  
The two argued all the way to charms.  
  
* * *  
  
"For once, we're not going to be late on a count of the fact that we seem to keep getting lost," Harry said as they approached the potions classroom later that day.  
  
"Nope, it's right on the way to the dormitories," said Fred.  
  
"Hey guys," Draco said as he approached.  
  
"Hey," the three of them said in unison.  
  
"So, are you looking forward to the class with your head of house?" asked Draco.  
  
"Well, he seems like sort of a softy in my opinion," said Fred.  
  
"Hey, Harry, you okay?" asked Draco.  
  
"Harry's all weird because Snape knew his parents," George explained.  
  
"Really? Well, it doesn't surprise me; they were in the same year; Professor Lupin probably knew them as well," Draco said.  
  
"How would you know?" Harry asked.  
  
Draco looked at the three of them, "Promise you won't tell?"  
  
"Yeah, sure, you can trust us; we're your friends," George said.  
  
"Well, I wasn't supposed to tell anyone but, Professor Snape, Sev, is my godfather." Draco said.  
  
"Wow," said Fred and George.  
  
"Yeah, anyways, we should probably get in there," Draco said.  
  
* * *  
  
When they got there everyone else was already there awaiting Professor Snape's arrival. Just as the four of them sat down, Professor Snape descended into the classroom and said, "There is to be no time wasting tomfoolery in this class; this class is dedicated to the refined art of potion making, there will be no wand waving or foolish spell casting; therefore, many of you will not see this class as true magic at all; but, I can assure you, potions is one of the most advanced - and one of the most important - forms of magic that you will learn here at Hogwarts. Now I will assign to each of you a partner,"  
  
Draco got assigned to Pansy Parkinson, Fred with Ernie Macmillan, George with Justin Finch-Fletchley and Harry with Neville Longbottom.  
  
Fred and George were laughing at something; Harry could only guess what, and Draco was giving him a sympathetic look.  
  
"Hi," Neville said to him quietly.  
  
He smiled and said, "Hi," back.  
  
Not even two minutes into the class, the potion that they were supposed to be making erupted all over Harry, he felt himself getting a sunburn-like rash that would be excruciatingly painful; when he could feel anything again that is.  
  
"What happened here?" Snape demanded.  
  
"Neville did something and the potion exploded," Draco explained.  
  
Snape sighed, "Weasley, Weasley, get Potter to the hospital wing, he can make up his credit after dinner. Draco, help Longbottom," He said.  
  
* * *  
  
When Harry awoke some hours later in the hospital wing he felt something cool and lotion-like all over his face, hands, neck and arms.  
  
"Well, it's about time you woke up," said Madam Pomfrey. "Here, use this cream, every morning and evening until the rash goes away, dinner just started and after dinner you have a make-up session with Professor Snape, now is there anything else?"  
  
"No, ma'am," Harry said.  
  
"Good. You are excused," she said.  
  
* * *  
  
When Harry got to the Great Hall, he saw Fred and George eating at the Slytherin table and Draco at the Hufflepuff table. He looked at Draco and smiled at him to signify that he was okay. Then he went and sat down next to Fred and George.  
  
"Hey, Harry, how are you?" one of the Weasley brothers - George? - said.  
  
"I'm fine, not looking forward to getting to bed late though,"  
  
The other brother snorted pumpkin juice out of his nose.  
  
The first brother looked at him, "You're an idiot, Fred,"  
  
Fred smiled, "Thank you,"  
  
Harry smiled, "You're both weird," he said.  
  
* * *  
  
When Harry got to the potions classroom he was a bit nervous, "Hello, Professor? It's me, Harry Potter."  
  
"Please have a seat, Mr. Potter so we can begin," Snape said from behind his desk.  
  
Harry sat down at the workstation that had been prepared for him; he was a little bit afraid, he didn't want to touch that goo again.  
  
"Is something wrong, Mr. Potter?"  
  
"No, sir I just... just don't wanna touch that stuff again,"  
  
Professor Snape looked quizzically at Harry, "What then, Mr. Potter, do you suggest you do with this time to make up this class?"  
  
"Um... I really don't know, sir," said Harry.  
  
Just at that moment there was a knock on the door, Snape sighed and said, "Enter,"  
  
Snape sighed again when he saw who was on the other side of the door, "What exactly do you want now Lupin?" he demanded.  
  
Professor Lupin looked at Harry and then said, "I have a small favor to ask of you, Severus, that is, if you don't mind,"  
  
Professor Snape looked at Professor Lupin, then at Harry, then at Lupin again and said, "Mr. Potter, you stay here and figure out what you'd like to be doing, Lupin, follow me," and walked out of the room.  
  
Harry looked around the classroom nervously. So that's Professor Lupin, huh? He seems nice enough; I wonder how well he knew my parents; and why does Snape hate him so much? It just didn't make sense to Harry.  
  
"Well?"  
  
Harry jumped up in surprise, "Well, what sir?" he asked.  
  
"Well, have you decided what use you can make here?" Snape demanded coldly.  
  
Harry hadn't; truth was, he kept thinking about Snape and Lupin and his parents.  
  
"Sir, can I ask you a question?"  
  
Snape sighed, "If you must,"  
  
"Umm... what was my mother like?"  
  
Snape looked at him in shock, "Lily... was... the sweetest, kindest, most generous woman I've ever met; there truly was none greater," his eyes were tearing up again.  
  
"Did Professor Lupin know my parents?" Harry asked.  
  
Snape's eyes grew cold again, "Yes Harry, Remus knew James and Lils,"  
  
"Why don't you like Professor Lupin?"  
  
Professor Snape looked at Harry in shock, "Who told you that I don't like professor Lupin?"  
  
"Well, your not very nice to him,"  
  
Snape sighed, "Harry, something happened a long time ago, something that I don't think you'd understand, it's not that I don't l - err, like Professor Lupin, it's that I don't like myself very much... there were - circumstances that need to be taken into account; I wish I had when I was seventeen,"  
  
"Should I go?" Harry asked.  
  
Snape sighed, "I think that that would be wise, Harry," 


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Nope, Don't own, not JKR; C'mon now!!!  
  
Spoilers: Ummm... not really in this chapter, if you spot some could you tell me?  
  
A/N: First of all, THANK YOU to all of the wonderful people who have reviewed this story so far (You know who you are ^-^) and also a HUGE thanks to Lee for all of her creative genius; and I'm sorry it took so long to get this chapter out, things happen(like writers block!); this chapter is in Sev's POV by request.  
  
Chapter 4  
  
Severus watched as Harry left furious with himself; I should have reached out to the boy more... but honestly, I don't know how much longer I'll be able to go without killing Remus, or Albus, or myself. He sighed. Damn you, Black, you're not even here and you're still ruining my life.  
  
He cleaned up the classroom and went out to his stores to get the cauldron and ingredients that he would need; then he caste locking and silencing spells around the room so that no one would be able to interfere with his work.  
  
He worked in silence and marveled at the fact that his mind seemed to clear, his anger and resentment went away and he could fully focus on the task at hand. Potion making had always had a claming effect on him and it never ceased to amaze him just how much he needed to calm down; he sighed and thought, this is my true calling, I don't know how I'd survive without working closely with potions.  
  
* * *  
  
Once he finished the potion he put it in a locked cabinet for safekeeping. He would give it to Lupin in three days time, on the night of the full moon.  
  
He looked around the room and thought, what would life be like if Sirius hadn't used you, Remy? I should have believed you when you said that nothing had happened; that it was Sirius being... well... Sirius. There was no use trying to figure this out; he yawned, and went to bed.  
  
* * *  
  
Severus knocked on Remus's door three days later. No answer. He knocked again. Nothing. He sighed, "I'll just have to leave the potion on his desk,"  
  
He slowly opened the door, "Hello? Are you here, Lupin?" he sighed again. He went over to the desk and sat the potion down and started looking for a quill and parchment so he could leave a note; what he found instead completely astonished him.  
  
"A pensive? How in the name of Merlin, could Lupin afford a pensive?"  
  
As he tried to figure it out he saw the thing come to life, he took a step forward, "I shouldn't," he whispered, but his legs had other ideas; before he could stop himself he was directly in front of the thing and looking into it.  
  
He saw a young girl who looked about fourteen or fifteen.  
  
"Lils?" he heard a very familiar voice call out.  
  
"I'm over here, Sev," Lily answered.  
  
"Hey, you wanted to see me?"  
  
"Yeah, umm... I need help with something,"  
  
"Well, you've been a really good friend to me, whatever you need, I'm sure we can figure out a way to get it,"  
  
"Oh, this shouldn't be too much of a problem for you, you see, a friend of mine needs help on some of his classes to pass the year, one of those is potions, do you think you could find it in your heart to help a friend of a friend?"  
  
Severus, was a bit confused, how would this be in Lupin's pensive? Unless, of course he got it from Lils.  
  
"Only if it's not Potter or Black," said fifteen-year-old Sev.  
  
"Oh, it's not, no worries! Actually, it's Remus,"  
  
"Lupin?"  
  
"That's right,"  
  
"Well, that shouldn't be too much of a problem, then,"  
  
"Good!"  
  
"Well, I've gotta go, I need to owl Lucius about something,"  
  
"'K thanks again!" she called out as Severus ran off.  
  
Just then modern-day Severus saw a fifteen-year-old Remus Lupin walk out of the shadows.  
  
"Wow, Lils, you are awesome!" he said.  
  
"Thank you Remy, thank you, now it's time to activate faze-two of my plan," she said with a grin.  
  
"Faze-two?" Remus asked cautiously.  
  
"Yes, faze-two! I have it all figured out, no worries!"  
  
"No worries? How could I bloody well not worry? What I signed up for did not include a faze-two!" he yelled.  
  
"Calm down, Remy, it's foolproof I assure you,"  
  
"Lily, do you remember what happened the last time you had a 'foolproof' plan?"  
  
Lily laughed slightly, "Hey, you have to admit, James had it coming," she said.  
  
"Yes, he did but I on the other hand, do not!"  
  
"Chill out, we wont be doing anything illegal, against school rules or in any way putting us in physical danger,"  
  
He looked at her in shock, "And you came up with this plan? What's the catch?"  
  
That was going to be my next question, Severus thought with a smile on his face.  
  
"Well, we'll be lying to the whole school and our friends," Lily said.  
  
"Oh?"  
  
"Well, what do you do when you like someone, but they barely know that you exist?"  
  
"Ummm... make them that know that you exist?"  
  
"Exactly!" she exclaimed.  
  
"I don't get it..."  
  
"Jealousy! It's the root of human emotion! The way you get someone to notice you is to make them jealous!"  
  
"Like... how?"  
  
"You date someone else and shove in their face the fact that you're not available,"  
  
"Whoa, are you saying that we have to date?"  
  
"No, I'm saying that we have to pretend to date,"  
  
"I dunno, Lils, this sounds really iffy in my opinion,"  
  
"Don't worry, Remy, we're not going to be hurting anyone and this is your chance to see if he likes you," she said with an evil grin.  
  
Remus sighed, "I guess,"  
  
"Great! I knew you wouldn't let me down!"  
  
"Hey, Lils, before I agree to this, what's in it for you?"  
  
Blushing she said, "Oh, this is my chance to see if Siri likes me,"  
  
Remus rolled his eyes and sighed.  
  
Severus shook his head, "You were quite an idiot sometimes, Lils,"  
  
"Yes, that's true,"  
  
Severus turned around in shock, "How long have you been standing there, Lupin?"  
  
"Long enough to be intrigued," Lupin said with a small smile.  
  
"You pretended to date?" Severus asked.  
  
"Yep, the only person we ever told was James, and that's only because he would have killed me otherwise,"  
  
Snape chuckled, "I remember, by the end of that day, the whole school was sympathizing with you because first James gave you a black eye, then - in front of the whole entire school, he made out with your ex-girlfriend of like, two seconds,"  
  
Remus smiled softly, "Yeah, and most people didn't believe me when I said that I was happy for them,"  
  
Snape smiled and looked at Remus's chaotic desk, "You never could keep things organised; what is this?" he asked and picked up a picture that had been knocked over.  
  
"No, Sev, you don't wanna look at that, really," Remus said nervously.  
  
"Oh my god, you still have this? After all of these years?" Severus looked up at him with tears in his eyes. "So, nothing did happen that day with Black?"  
  
"No, Sev nothing happened,"  
  
* * *  
  
Well, there it is chapter 4 in all it's glory; don't you just LOVE the cliff hanger??? You know I do! Next chapter will be Harry's POV so, you're gonna have to wait for the chapter *after* that to see what is in that picture! Mi is evil!!!!! 


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own, c'mon now!!!  
  
Spoilers: Not that I can see... if you do tell me, 'k?  
  
A/N: I HAVE ABSOLUTLY NO REVIEWS FOR THE LAST CHAPTER!!! NONE! PLEAE REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!! On that note, I'd like to thank my muses, Lee, Maya, and Bandit for all of their love, support and HELP! (and Bandit for being my minion on the FA chat *glomps* ^-^)  
  
Chapter 5  
Life had reached a state of normalcy for Harry and his friends as the first few weeks passed; although, he hadn't talked to Ron much since that first day, he met up with Draco sometimes though. He was really tight with Fred and George and did almost everything with them; it amazed him sometimes that Ron was a part of their trio, it seemed more like a duo to Harry.  
  
It was their third week at Hogwarts and the school had been unforgiving to the First Year students. Their second day of classes they had met Peeves the Poltergeist; why no one had at least warned them of Peeves was anybodies guess, Harry just assumed that since everyone else had to learn about Peeves the hard way in their first year, every First Year student after them had to suffer the same fate. And because of Peeves they had been late to their very first class with McGonagall; not a pretty sight. They got lost on their way to History of Magic and were caught by Filch; again, not a pretty sight. Two days later on their way to their second class with McGonagall the staircase changed on them and they were caught again, this time by Percy Weasley, Fifth Year Gryffindor prefect; and Fred and George's older brother; and when they finally did manage to make it to Transfiguration McGonagall let them have it again. Now, if you're counting that's four detentions their first week!  
  
The week after went about in the same fashion.  
  
* * *  
  
Tuesday morning in their third week Harry awoke in a cold sweat. He smiled slightly at the memory of the dream. Just then Fred and George walked into the room, big goofy grins plastered on both of their faces.  
  
"We talked to Ron this morning," said Fred in a singsong voice.  
  
"Oh?"  
  
"Well," George said the grin never leaving his face, "Apparently, little brother has had his own run-ins with McGonagall and our mission, should we choose to accept it is, 'Operation Catnip,'"  
  
Harry's eyes went wide, "Catnip?"  
  
Fred and George looked at each other then back at Harry, Fred pulled a small bag out of his robe pocket.  
  
Harry smiled, then, suddenly, stopped smiling.  
  
"What?" they both asked.  
  
Harry looked at them wide-eyed, "Do either of you mind if I do it?"  
  
They looked at each other and said in unison, "Not at all, Harry,"  
  
Fred handed Harry the catnip, "Thanks," Harry said.  
  
* * *  
  
As they were walking to the Great Hall for lunch Fred asked, "Is it just me or did the catnip thing not work?"  
  
"Well, we don't rightfully know yet, now do we?" Harry asked innocently.  
  
"What does that mean?" George asked confused.  
  
"Yeah, what does that mean, Harry?" Fred quipped.  
  
He looked at them with an evil grin, "You'll see,"  
  
As they walked to the doors of the Great Hall, Ron stopped them, "Well?"  
  
Harry just put his hand out to shut him up opened the doors, got Draco's attention and motioned for him to come outside.  
  
"What's up?" Draco asked.  
  
Harry looked at them, "Follow me,"  
  
Ron and Draco looked at Fred and George who both just shrugged and they all followed Harry.  
  
* * *  
  
He lead them straight to McGonagall's office and what they saw when they opened the door made them all bust up laughing.  
  
There was cat-McGonagall purring loudly rolling on the floor, batting at the catnip with her paw.  
  
"Well, Harry, I have to hand it to ya, I couldn't have done it better myself," Fred said and wiped a tear from his eye.  
  
"That was wicked! Bloody brilliant!" Ron said once he finally caught his breath.  
  
"Let me get this straight," Draco said after he stopped laughing, "You guys planed, carried out, and pulled off this incredible prank with out telling me until it was finished! Uncool man, very uncool,"  
  
They all stopped laughing.  
  
"Well guys, I um. I gotta get to my next class, see ya," Ron said and ran off.  
  
"Coward," said Fred.  
  
"Well, Draco, this all happened this morning so we really didn't have that much notice ourselves, and besides, we had to do it at our class with McGonagall, you don't even have Transfiguration today," George said after a few seconds.  
  
Draco looked at the Slytherins, "Yeah, whatever," he said and stalked off.  
  
Harry ran after him, "Draco!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"I need to tell you something, and you can't tell anybody, I mean anybody, not Ron, not even Fred and George,"  
  
"What's up Harry?"  
  
* * *  
  
When Harry finished explaining Draco was looking at him wide-eyed, "Are you for real here?"  
  
Harry sighed, "Unfortunately, I am,"  
  
"Wow." Draco whispered in awe.  
  
"Harry Potter!" said a very angry McGonagall from behind them.  
  
Both Harry and Draco flinched.  
  
Harry turned around to face McGonagall who was holding up a familiar clove of catnip, "Does this belong to you?" she demanded.  
  
"No, professor, it's mine," Draco said.  
  
Harry looked at Draco, shocked, as did McGonagall.  
  
"Very well, Mr. Malfoy, come with me, Mr. Potter, I believe you have classes to attend to,"  
  
Harry couldn't do too much else, so he went to his next class, but he swore to himself that he'd pay Draco back and that McGonagall would get the prank of the century. as soon as he could think of it.  
  
* * *  
  
He arrived late to Defence Against the Dark Arts, which was his favourite class.  
  
"Ah, so glad you decided to join us, Harry, now could you please take your seat?"  
  
"I'm sorry, Professor Lupin, you see, I - "  
  
"That's quite alright, Harry, now shall we continue with the lesson?"  
  
He went and sat down right in between Fred and George, "Well, what happened?" Fred whispered.  
  
Harry sighed, "McGonagall knew,"  
  
They both looked at him wide-eyed, "What?" George demanded under his breath.  
  
"She asked if I knew where the catnip had come from and Draco said it was his,"  
  
"What?" Fred burst out.  
  
"Is there something that you three want to share with the class?" asked Professor Lupin.  
  
"No, professor," they said in unison.  
  
"Do you mind waiting for dinner if you must have another outburst?" he asked sounding amused.  
  
"No professor," they said again.  
  
"Good," he said and got back to his lecture.  
  
"Draco took the rap, but I thought he was mad at us," said Fred.  
  
"He was, but he's not anymore," Harry said and suddenly got a look of pure terror on his face.  
  
"What is it, Harry?" Fred and George whispered.  
  
"Nothing," he whispered back; I have got to figure out what the fuck is going on with me, he thought. Unfortunately, there was only one person who could help him. and it wasn't someone he'd ever go to had he the choice; but I don't have a choice, if this keeps up I'm going to go crazy.  
  
* * *  
  
When they were going to dinner Harry said he needed to use the loo as an excuse to do what obviously needed to be done.  
  
Instead of going to the bathroom he went to the library, "Hermione, I need your help with something," he said.  
  
Without looking up from what she was reading she asked, "Oh, and what might that be?"  
  
"Well, you see, it's like this."  
  
* * *  
  
Ooooh, cliffhanger number 2. this is starting to become a habit. heh heh. ^- ^ What happens next? Well, you're just gonna have to wait! Next chap: Sev's POV, first cliffhanger revealed! .Or not! ^-^ You're just gonna have to wait and find out!!! I am evil!!!  
  
~~Misty 


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Don't you people get it by now? I DON'T OWN HARRY POTTER!!!  
  
Spoilers: Um... if there are any (Which once again I don't think there are) they'd be from PoA  
  
A/N: Thank you once again to my wonderful muses! They are, Lee, Maya and Bandit if you've forgotten. PLEASE REVIEW!!!  
  
Chapter 6  
  
Remus Lupin looked at the picture in front of him, life was so simple that summer. He was happy, he had friends that no one could top and he was very much in love. He felt a tear fall down his face; it was amazing what a simple muggle photograph could do to a person, he looked once again at the smiling faces of Severus, Lily and himself and wondered how life would be if Sirius hadn't been so selfish.  
  
*Flashback*  
  
"Oh my god, you still have this? After all of these years?" Severus looked up at him with tears in his eyes. "So, nothing did happen that day with Black?"  
  
"No, Sev nothing happened,"  
  
"But, I thought -"  
  
"You thought wrong,"  
  
"Merlin..." Severus whispered.  
  
"I have never lied to you, Sev, not once, you're the one that broke a promise,"  
  
Severus slid the back of the frame and looked at the simple words written on the back.  
  
Remus,  
  
Can you believe this was taken just hours before it happened, wild huh? Lils always does get her way no matter what. I'm just glad that it worked out for us too. ( Thank you for telling me your secret; I'd always wondered what happened to you every month but was always too afraid to ask you... I can't tell you how happy I am to be with you; you're a wonderful person and I think I'm falling head-over-heels in love with you; please stop being afraid because of what you are; it can't be helped... I want you to know that you're not alone anymore, I am here and I'm not going anywhere. Ever. I want us to be together always...  
  
Yours Eternally, Sev  
  
Severus looked at Remus, tears swelling up in his eyes, "I am so sorry, Remy, I was young, I was stupid, but, most of all, I was afraid that you didn't love me anymore..."  
  
"What?" Remus asked in shock.  
  
"Well, you were spending so much time with Sirius and it was obvious that he had a crush on you... but that doesn't justify my actions, I know that, please forgive me?"  
  
Remus sighed, "I don't know... it's going to take me a while..."  
  
Severus looked at him, "Take all the time you need, I'll wait forever if need be,"  
  
Remus gave him a strange look, "Are you okay, Sev, you're not sounding like yourself,"  
  
"Salazar, Rem, can't you tell that I'm pouring my bloody heart out to you here? I don't do that for every piece of arse that comes my way!"  
  
Remus smiled, "There's the Severus I know and love,"  
  
"And another thing I - did you say... love?"  
  
"Yes, Sev, I did, werewolves mate for life, even if my human side will need some time to learn to trust you again, I could never stop loving you,"  
  
"I am the worlds biggest idiot," Severus whispered.  
  
"I'm not disagreeing with you there; now, the sun'll be going down soon, so I need to take this bloody concoction and you need to let me be for the night,"  
  
"Alright, I'm going, but I'll be thinking about you," Severus said in that silky voice that always could make Remus melt.  
  
*End Flashback*  
  
Just then a knock at the door interrupted Remus's thoughts.  
  
"C'mon in Sev,"  
  
"You wanted to see me?"  
  
"Yes, I found something out in one of my classes today that I think you'll enjoy,"  
  
"Oh?"  
  
Remus looked up at Severus with a big goofy grin, "Harry and the Weasley brothers, Fred and George, catnapped McGonagall today!"  
  
Severus looked at him for a second and laughed, "So, what's on the detention list this time, you know, that woman has come to me about those three more then anyone else, probably ever,"  
  
"They're not getting detention, apparently, Draco Malfoy said that he did it,"  
  
"Really? I knew from the get-go that those four would be causing trouble,"  
  
"My, you say a lot of funny words, professor, can't you talk like a normal human being?" Remus asked playfully.  
  
"What are you blithering about now?" Severus asked annoyed.  
  
"See! See! There you go again! 'Blithering,'" Remus exclaimed excitedly.  
  
Severus sighed, "Is there a point to these shenanigans?"  
  
"Ooooh! Shenanigans! That's a good one! And is it true on your First Year students you used - gasp! - Tomfoolery?"  
  
Severus chuckled slightly, "You are one strange individual, Lupin,"  
  
Remus slapped a cheesy grin on his face and said, "That's why you love me!"  
  
They looked at each other and burst out laughing.  
  
Just then there was a knock on the door, "Come in," Remus said trying to remember how to breathe, he'd regained his composure for the most part and looked up at Severus and started laughing again, causing Severus to do the same.  
  
"I see you two are friends again," Harry said with a smile on his face.  
  
As they started gasping for air again their eyes met and again, they were laughing.  
  
"Should I leave and come back?" Harry asked.  
  
Breathing fitfully, Severus said, "No, Harry that's okay, what do you need?"  
  
"Um... I was sent here for my detention tonight,"  
  
"Ah, that's right," Remus said.  
  
"Harry, I've been wondering, did Professor Snape really use the word 'tomfoolery' in his beginning of term speech?" Remus asked.  
  
"Um... I don't remember much from that day... as I was in the hospital wing for most of it... but he might have," said Harry, confused.  
  
"Remy!" Severus whined.  
  
Remus just looked at him and said, "Sev!" in the same whiny tone.  
  
They both started laughing again, "Okay, time to be serious now," Remus said.  
  
"Okay, 'Oh Rem, my Rem-Rem, I loooovvvvveeee yoooooou!!!!!!!'" Severus exclaimed dramatically.  
  
Remus looked at Severus, "Not what I meant,"  
  
"Okay, okay, I'm going!" Severus said.  
  
"G'night, Sev,"  
  
"Night, Remy,"  
  
Remus watched as Severus walked out of the room and thought, I could watch him walk away forever, he still does have that cute butt, he looked over at Harry, not the best thoughts, Rem, you idiot!  
  
"Okay, Harry, you'll be sorting through and alphabetically stacking these books," Remus said after Severus had left and then walked to the door, "You trust me to do this unchaperoned?" Harry asked.  
  
Remus looked at him, "Only if you behave yourself and do no - shenanigans," he said and walked out the door laughing again.  
  
* * *  
  
Two chapters in a mere matter of hours! Woo, I am pooped, think I'll get sick more often... ( Next chap: Harry's POV, find out the other cliffhanger...  
  
~~Misty 


End file.
